


Nothing Special

by TritoneHorror



Series: Soulmark AU [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone: Amnesty - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, More characters to come, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, mentioned Aubrey/Dani
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-08-09 16:04:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16453007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TritoneHorror/pseuds/TritoneHorror
Summary: "Duck had spent the majority of his life not caring about his soulmark which is probably why he's thrown so off guard when Aubrey asks about it."A soulmark AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey thanks for checking this out! You're great! Its been a few years since I've shared any of my writing publicly, and its my first time posting on AO3 so feedback, comments, suggestions for tags or formatting etc. are all welcome!
> 
> I'd like to dedicate this fic. to our disaster discord server. Y'all are great and I love you! I would probably have abandoned this work and left it unposted if not for the feedback and support! Sometimes the little things help.  
> Enjoy!

Duck Newton didn't care much for fate. After meeting Minerva and having the occasional weird future dream he had turned his back on the whole “destiny” thing. No exceptions. He started to see his soulmark less of a tie of fate and more of well...a birthmark. That's all it was in a way though right? Just a mark on his skin that had been there since birth. Other birthmarks didn't get as much attention, so why put all that much thought into this one? That’s what Duck told himself anyway.

Duck had spent the majority of his life not caring about his soulmark which is probably why he's thrown so off guard when Aubrey asks about it.

“Uhhh, come again?”

“Your soulmark. What’s it look like? Have you met your soulmate yet?”

“That's uh,” Duck pulls out a chair at the table and takes a seat. “Those are some pretty loaded personal questions you're askin’ Aubrey.”

Aubrey leans back in her own chair. Duck can tell that she's fighting the urge to kick her legs up on the table by the way she's fidgeting.

“Yeah? I was talking to Dani about them.” She motions her arm towards Dani who is talking to Barclay outside the kitchen. Aubrey then turns and searches the lodge before leaning in closer to Duck. He assumes she was looking for signs of Agent Stern when she indicates that the next part of conversation is to be kept hush-hush.

“Apparently Sylphs don't have marks in their true forms. But they can have them show up in their human forms. Isn't that weird?”

“It's something. But what does that have to do with mine?”

Aubrey shrugs. “It doesn't. I'm just curious.”

“Well I'm sorry to disappoint but I don't really talk about that kinda stuff. Don't really care about it.”

“WHAT?” Duck recoils slightly at the abrupt change in her volume but she continues. “You don't CARE about it? Do you have one?”

Duck stammers. “Well I don't _not_ h-”

“So you do!” She interrupts and points a finger at him. “So what's the deal? Don't you want to find your soulmate?”

“I just choose not to let that kinda thing control my life.” Duck avoids looking at Aubrey as she scrunches her face in thought. “Can’t we talk about something else? How'd this come up anyway?”

“Well, check this out!” She stood up and waved to Dani. “Hey, Dani! Come here, I wanna show Duck!”

While Dani makes her way across the room, Aubrey shows off a mark on her hip to Duck. The mark is simple. The outline of a fern leaf with an orange bow tied to the bottom of the stem. Dani also reveals her mark, an outline of a rabbit placed atop of a small flame, which is set in the same place. Duck can almost see the joy radiating from Aubrey as she bounces on her heels.

“Ah, well. Look at that! Congratulations you two.”

  

Later that same afternoon, Duck finds his mind wandering back to Aubrey's question. It had been years since he had given his soulmark much thought. He had forgotten that it was a tie to another person. He had never explored the idea that someone out there had a mark that was symbolic of _him._ Never questioned what that mark might look like (God, he hoped it wasn't something silly - like a bowl of French onion soup).

But did he want to find his soulmate? Duck had spent so long distancing himself from all things connected to destiny and fate that he had never considered the question. The concept of things in his life being predetermined by some higher power... well, it scared him. But he had started to accept things with Minerva so maybe he could embrace this too. The mark certainly seemed more beneficial in comparison. Maybe he should take some time to think about this.

“DUCK NEWTON!”

Or maybe not.

“Aw shit, Minerva. Is it that time already? I'm sorry. I kinda let time get away from me today.” Duck stood up his couch and stretched as he faced Minerva. She appeared as she always did, a figure of shimmering light blue with a stance of confidence. When she noticed that Duck did not have Beacon at ready like he usually did she gave him a quick glance over.

“Is something troubling you, Duck Newton?”

“Well no. I mean yes? I mean kinda?” Duck rubbed at the back of his head as he tried to gather his thoughts. “Its nothing. Not really important.”

“Nonsense!” Minerva proclaimed. “You are obviously distracted by this, therefore it must be of some import! Tell me, Duck Newton, what troubles you so? If nothing else, perhaps I can ease your burden by listening.”

Duck considered his options. “Ah, what the hell? Sure. I need to get these thoughts unpacked anyway.”

Minerva practically glowed in response, eager at the opportunity to help Duck. She motioned for him to continue as she looked on.

“Well, I guess I’ll start with this. Since you're all about my destiny and such - I guess that means you know about my soulmark, doncha?”

Minerva paused as if his words needed a second to catch up to her. She tilted her head in a quizzical manner. “Soulmark? I know not of what you are referring to. Oh! This must be something native to your world's culture! Bonds are important to your people, correct? This must be an example of physical evidence of interpersonal connections that exist in your-”

Duck interrupted her before she could start a new tangent. “Wait...you seriously don't know anything about soulmarks? So, it's not tied up with my chosen future mess?”

“I assure you, Duck Newton, that I do not know of this soulmark you speak of. It may perhaps aid you in your quest, yes! But it is a string of fate separate of that of your destiny as the chosen one.”

“Huh, I guess I just assumed all the fate stuff was connected.”

“It is! In a manner of speaking. Just not in the way you might have pictured it.”

Duck slumped against his couch. “So, you don't know my soulmate or anything like that?”

Minerva took a second to consider before responding. “Would it have eased your troubles if I did?”

“Y'know...probably not.” Duck sighed. “In a way it's better knowing that you don’t know about those specifics. No offense.”

“So this matter of your soulmark is the source of your anxiety?”

“Yes and no. When you say it like that you make it sound like I’m making a...a _thing_ out of it. That's not what I'm doing.”

If Minerva's eyebrows were visible, Duck imagines he would have seen her just raise one at him.

He runs his hands down his face.

“Yeah, okay. Lemme try again.” Taking a deep breath he continued. “Aubrey asked me today if I want to meet my soulmate and yeah. I do. But like...it scares me. I've gone so long without meeting them and what if I missed my chance? What if I already fucked things up? What if they don-”

“Duck!”

“...Yeah?”

“I may not know the details regarding your soulmate, but I can tell you this: it will work out.”

Duck let her words sink into him and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“Stay strong, Duck Newton! And no matter what, you can always count on the bond we share! The bond that is our friensh-”

And just like always, she vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I hope you liked it.  
> This is just the beginning of what I hope to be a decent project! (Everything depends on directions the Mcelroy's take with Amnesty. I started to outline this before Episode 16 and it VERY different now, after Episode 17). 
> 
> No Indrid this time. Sorry! 
> 
> Don't be shy, leave a comment if you'd like! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Indrid Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Did you know that you're great? You are!  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
> I apologize for any mistakes; I was eager to get this posted.

_ “You might want to do something about that.” _

Indrid gently placed the phone back down on the receiver, ending the call. Standing up from his chair, he stumbles across the floor to get himself more eggnog. Only somewhat present in the moment he grabs a glass and moves back over towards the phone. Best to stay near the phone. He knows he’ll need it again anyway. It was no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when. And with the way things were going, it was better to be prepared. 

Indrid sits down - or he thinks he does; he's stopped paying attention to the physical world at this point. He sees Duck Newton start running towards Leo Tarkesian's General Store and tries to focus in on the more likely outcomes. Aubrey Little casts some magic and several more futures appear. In one, Indrid watches the wind’s speed pick up too much and Duck is thrown off balance. Before he can see Duck land in the snow that vision fades to black. Indrid is now watching as Duck bursts through the door to Leo’s. Several similar futures play out - the differences subtle enough that overall none stand out. A majority lead to Janice, the town's mail carrier, leaving the building. Indrid ignores the futures where she stays.

In the present, Indrid Cold has picked up his sketchpad. His hand scribbling absently across the paper. He isn't focused on this sketch. This particular action is serving more as a meditative aid than it is any real purpose. The gentle hum of several infrared space heaters is joined by the faint scratches of the pencil. This is not where Indrid's focus lies. 

Now he is watching Ned Chicane yell to Duck from outside the store. There are multiple futures and they don't all sync up. In some, Ned doesn't act quick enough. In others, Aubrey had done so much more damage with her magic than she had ever intended. (Indrid doesn't notice his grip tightening on his pencil as he watches these; he doesn't notice that his tension fades when those futures disappear). Indrid focuses on the constants. Duck tackling Leo to safety. Duck emerging from the store to check on the others. Duck. Always Duck managing to survive the damage and help the others in the wreckage. Eventually, the danger passes. Indrid sees only the future aftermath of the actual events now. They did it. And while damage had still been done, everyone had  _ survived. _

This was an outcome Indrid had hoped for when he had made the call; but to actually see the aftermath of it actually come to pass filled him with an emotion he did not have a name for. He falls back into the present moment and stares at his hands. He notices consciously for the first time the pencil in his grip. Across Kepler, the paramedics had arrived at Leo's General Store and the Pineguard trio are about to be ushered to the hospital. But no one was dead. Indrid allows his body to slump as he releases a tension he did not realize he was holding.

Indrid can see Duck getting coffee while Aubrey confesses a secret to Mama in Ned's hospital room. He sees futures where Jake Coolice is too late reaching the pay phone or where he doesn't go at all. He sees the possibility of him remaining a mystery and never speaking to the trio in person - he makes the firm decision to call the hospital and these futures dim. If he changes focus, far into the future, Indrid sees himself. He is talking with the three in his RV. Duck is speaking but current Indrid doesn't allow himself to listen to the words. This meeting is not the first in its timeline; this vision is hazy with static of a future that is uncertain. The three in this future have already met Indrid and have come back for several visits. Aubrey speaks and it looks like she is asking about his glasses? Ned joins in and Duck pinches the bridge of his nose. Duck turns to that Indrid and gives what looks to be an apology. The Indrid in the future stumbles over a reply and -

Indrid jolts upright as he snaps back in the present. Now's not the time to get lost in futures. Especially when those futures are changing rapidly with current events. Indrid grabs the nearest glass of nog and downs it in steady gulps. Okay, now what? They had succeeded but the danger was still present. Time to prepare for tomorrow. He should sketch out possible locations around Kepler so he can be ready when the abomination strikes. If it does. It most certainly will. Indrid looks down at his sketch pad and...freezes. There is Duck Newton, face scrunched in concern as he pulls himself away from the remains of the general store to search for his friends. Indrid brushes his fingers across the page as he feels heat rise to his cheeks.

_ Oh. _

He drums his fingers on his bouncing knee as realization kicks in. This is isn't the first time he had found himself drawn to (or more literally, having drawn) Duck; Indrid had been watching the events in Kepler for some time now. His collection of sketches included quite a few of the trio already. Now their paths were aligned. He had been so worried that his interference would bring more harm than good. That he would be nothing more than a herald of disaster. ( _ Again). _ But everything was going...well. So far.

Indrid carefully flips to the next page in his sketchbook and gets to work. His glances towards the phone but it is still too early. Time is tricky but Indrid can wait. Later, he will call the hospital. Tomorrow; Duck, Aubrey, and Ned will arrive outside his Winnebago. Duck will knock on the window and Indrid will open the door. Indrid watches these events play out in his mind over and over. Each one a slightly different variation of the future. His hand moves the pencil across the paper as he listens to these conversations play out.

Yes. Later, he will call the hospital.

 

The next day, before the other three arrived at the Eastwood Campground and RV park, Indrid Cold stands facing a wall in his trailer. He shuffles through his sketchbook, ripping drawings of relevant locations out as he does, and pins those pages to the wall. He is double checking his future visions when he hears something that causes him to lose his focus. Ned’s voice asking a simple question in casual conversation. 

_ “So I see you’ve got a soulmark, is your soulmate around?” _

A pushpin slips out of his grasp and lands somewhere on the floor. Indrid decides he’ll leave it for now; he’ll pick it up later...eventually. He pins the last landscape to the wall and steps back. He starts to pace the floor of his small home. 

Now is not the time to focus on soulmarks, he tells himself. Despite this, his hand gravitates  towards his left shoulder, it rubs the space around his collarbone. He no longer has to look down to see the shape of it. Indrid had spent hours marveling at the mark that showed up no matter what human enchantment he took. He remembers seeing it for the first time in a new form he had not yet perfected. It was always the same. A glass bottle laid on its side. Inside that shape, a skyline of pine trees. It was as beautiful - or Indrid thought it was at least. But he hadn’t considered the matter of his soulmate in some time.

And before he could, there was a knock on his window. Or there would be in a few seconds. Indrid adjusts his glasses and moves to the door.  _ Tap tap tap. _

“Uh, excuse me? Hello?”

Indrid smiles as he opens the door.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thanks to the amazing group of people in our discord server that helped finalize Indrid's soulmark! Y'all are the best! <3
> 
> Don't hesitate to leave a comment if you'd like!  
> :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope your day is going well!  
> Just a heads up, this chapter is mainly just canon interactions - but I do plan on diverging from canon plot soon.

Duck didn't know what to think of Indrid Cold just yet. He couldn't tell what the others were thinking either; Aubrey was too focused on his eye glasses and Ned was just harder to get a clear read on. Being lead inside amidst the glasses of ancient nog and crumpled up paper Duck didn't particularly feel like he was in danger. Actually, in Duck's opinion, the most threatening looking thing in the rv was the ancient nog. As he’s trying to erase the sight of spoiled nog from his mind, Indrid takes that moment to offer them drinks or food. Aubrey stays quiet as Ned and Duck both refuse.

Indrid doesn't seem all that surprised by this but makes his way to the fridge anyway. “I haven't entertained guest in quite some time, so I apologize that I don't have more to offer.”

“Mr. Mothman-”

“Please,” Indrid holds a hand out to stop Duck. “Can you call me Indrid? It's... I don't prefer Mothman.”

Duck can understand that. He knows that feeling all too well. So he nods, and tries again. “Alright, Indrid. Um, are you like super into nog? Or what's the story?” 

“Who isn't?” Indrid smiles as he opens a fresh carton of eggnog and takes a drink straight from the container. Duck has to look away. He focuses instead on the walls. As he does Duck feels a strange feeling in his chest - he blames it on the recent events and tells himself that it's just the anticipation of knowing there's more danger to come. Indrid finishes with his nog and makes his way towards a section of the wall where sketches of different places around Kepler are pinned. He starts to speak again as he rips a sketch from the wall and crumples it up. 

“I know you all have lots of questions - and I actually know what most of those question are going to be - but in the interest of making this  _ feel _ like a normal conversation; what is it that you all want to know, before I tell you what I need?”

Before Duck can say anything Aubrey speaks up and asks for Indrid's glasses. Duck facepalms at the ongoing interaction.

“Why do you need- you need my glasses for what reason?”

“A big cat?”

Duck decides to jump in. “I thought you would know our reason.”

Indrid is still smiling as he reaches a hand up to rub his forehead in what looks to be very mild annoyance. “I'm not a mindreader, that's not really how this works. I have have no conceivable idea why you'd need my glasses other than the fact they're very stylish.”

Duck takes pity on the man. Despite Aubrey bringing them up, that's not what they're really here for anyway. “Alright, keep your glasses, listen. I- what is going on with the-” He tries again. “Okay, let me back it up even further. It seems like snow, or wind, has been acting all

...goofy? I dunno how to put it into technical fantasy terms, but it’s been acting all shitty and weird. Do you know what the story is? What’s causing it?”

Indrid considers the question as he turns and crumples up another drawing. Conversation really has never been his strongest suit. Indrid really wished he could skip the explaining part but there are things that need to be said. So he explains his powers and shares his history as court seer in Slyvain. He tells them about the unnatural changes he’s spotted in the patterns that make up futures. He crumples another drawing - another timeline becoming invisible - and throws it to the floor. He tells them that he theorizes the abominations are the source of the issue and he wants to help.

“I haven't really been in the, uh, interference game, ever since…” Indrid fiddles nervously with his fingers and then waves his hand in a circular motion. “You know, the Silver Bridge- But I figured maybe this would be a pretty good chance to do so!”

“Silver Bridge?” 

Duck watches Indrid, expecting to see a reaction at Aubrey’s question; and even though Indrid keeps his smile and composure, Duck can tell that it's just slightly off kilter. So he speaks up.

“Yeah, it was...back quite a while. I'm telling the story as we know it because I have to imagine that your take on it is probably a little bit,” Duck shoots a glance towards Indrid and swears that behind those reflective frames those eyes are staring straight at him. He turns back to Aubrey. “...different from ours. But back around Point Pleasant, when a lot of people were sighting…” Suddenly first names felt too intimate. “Mr. Cold, and the Mothman quite a bit, there was a disaster. The Silver Bridge there in Point Pleasant collapsed...took a bunch of people with it.” 

“Forty six people.” When Duck looked back, Indrid’s gaze was no longer on him but instead focused directly at the wall. 

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Aubrey breathed.

Indrid’s hand floats in front of another drawing. “Yes, it was certainly my most newsworthy failure.” He crumples the sheet but this time he doesn't immediately let it go. He turns back to the group before continuing.

“I came to this world, like I said, around a century ago,  trying to find answers for the difficulties that my world is experiencing. Instead,” Indrid’s right fist curled around the crumpled paper as he brought it, almost instinctively, to hover over his soulmark. “I found myself falling in love with your world and wanting to protect its people from harm. But it seems like people weren’t especially interested in listening to me- which I can't blame them for.” He tossed the paper away. “I did try to remain sort of mysterious and clandestine about my warnings. That was my undoing. But after the Silver Bridge, I walked away from the soothsaying business. It was too much; too much failure, too much, believe it or not, unpredictability.” He turns back to the wall. “But whatever is happening now, this is not- these are not natural occurrences. This is something else entirely, and it’s something that needs to be stopped.” He pulls another drawing down to crumple before quickly tossing it away.

Indrid did not like to dwell on the past; he'd prefer to not think of it at all. But he's pushing back memories of the past- _first steps through the gate; first time wearing a human disguise; seeing his visible mark for the first time and_ _understanding; Point Pleasant; the heartache of failure-_ as Aubrey speaks through her jinx theory. He replies, but the action is more like reading from a memorized script. He is more focused on the futures and watching for the one that is about to happen. His hands are posed ready to remove the irrelevant sketches from the wall.

Duck listens to Aubrey's theory until his thoughts start wander. Duck had noticed Indrid motioning towards his mark when he talked about coming to earth. Aubrey said that Sylph's don’t have soulmarks in their true forms. Duck wondered what it must have been like for Indrid; he tried to envision for himself discovering he had a soulmark after living so long without one. He was  _ kinda _ going through something similar in a way, he guessed. He was still trying to figure his feeling out. Besides, its not like he'd be able to just  _ find _ his soulmate now, life was more complicated than that. He wondered if Indrid knew his own soulmate yet. 

Indrid pulls several drawings from the wall before lingering on the last one. Duck forced himself to pay attention. Indrid eyes linger on the drawing in his hand before he looks back the other three. 

“Okay. The funicular that connects topside and riverside is about to come crashing down the mountain, slamming into town, and destroying the base station. There are,” Indrid focuses on the vision. “three passengers on it right now. They'll all be killed, and an engineer at the base station will be injured as well- but he'll pull through. Good news, though! You have  _ six _ minutes this time.” 

Indrid hands the drawing to the group. For the briefest second no one moves...and then Ned is gently pushing Duck's shoulder forward. Duck takes the sketch of the funicular from Indrid's hand and Aubrey starts to steer the group towards the exit. 

“Go!” She yells.

“Yes, Go!” Indrid waves them out the door.

As the three leave the warm Winnebago and step into the cold December air, Aubrey turns to yell back, “I'll be back for those glasses!” 

Indrid makes sure the door is securely closed (wouldn't want any of the cold to drift in) and then walks over to his phone. Even though they hadn’t even left the campground yet, Indrid could now see the three at the funicular. He can see many different events unfolding - not all of them good. 

Aubrey jumping the turnstile to reach the couple inside. Duck nervously stumbling through a lie to his coworker, Juno Devine. Ned chatting away with the engineer at the desk.

So many possible outcomes. 

Indrid picks up the phone and begins turning the rotary dial on the base. When he's done, his fingers idly wrap around the telephone cord while he waits for an answer. 

“This is Amnesty Lodge-”

“Hello Barclay!” Indrid didn't bother to wait for Barclay to respond before continuing. “Currently, Ned, Aubrey, and Duck are heading towards the topside funicular station.” 

Indrid sees Ned and Aubrey recklessly drive down the mountain side. He sees Duck rushing into the woods alone. 

“Wh-”

“You should head over there right now. You won't make it in time for the crash,” Indrid sees the tram being forced to a stop, Ned and Aubrey safe from the collision. “which is in five minutes. So head towards the woods behind the station.” He sees Duck surrounded.

Before Barclay can make a sound, Indrid is hanging up the phone. He watches Barclay hurry out of the lodge. 

Four minutes remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to leave a comment! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Overwhelmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is doing well! I hope you enjoy this chapter

Duck is running high on adrenaline and anxiety as the next chain of the events unfold. His thoughts are a scattered mess as he arrives at the topside funicular station; as he stumbles through a lie to Juno; as he follows Aubrey’s direction and runs into the woods. He feels a conflicting sense of hyper-awareness and detachment as he catches up with the hooded goat figure; as he swings Beacon and forces the beast where he want him; as he is surrounded by two more goat creatures. This strange dissonance he feels continues as he tries to reason with the other creatures; as Danimal’s old shears dig into his shoulder; as Barclay pulls up in Mama's old truck. Duck is too overwhelmed to remember his exact thought process and doesn't really know why he decides he wants to take this strange goat back to the lodge. He is feeling too much.

And then there's Minerva - Jesus does she have the worst timing. Duck lashes out at her and he can't feel regret for that now, he's already at his max capacity. He finishes up his makeshift patch-up job on autopilot; which is weird considering he's never done this kind of thing before. But then Duck finds himself drying his freshly washed hands and he is done. He's somehow managed to bandage up not only the goat's shoulder but what little damage was done to his own. With nothing left to do he feels himself starting to spiral.

Duck collapses in a chair and immediately curls into himself, elbows propped upon his knees as he hangs his head in his hands. He is exhausted. Tears threaten to overspill from his eyes but they never do. Instead, Duck unfurls himself - stretching out his limbs. He feels something in his pocket weakly brush against his thigh, an unfamiliar shape. He reaches in and pulls out a folded scrap of paper. For a moment he is confused and then he remembers. He unfolds the page to reveal the station he was at only hours before. Duck studies the sketch and finds himself appreciating the artist's skills - despite the obvious signs of a pencil moving too fast to care about details - everything was exact. It was beautiful but in a messy kind of way. 

Duck catches himself smiling.  _ Oh man _ . Suddenly, he feels another wave of overwhelming emotions, but this time they’re different. This is all flutters and his face grows warm. He whispers a soft “shit” as he covers his red face with his hands and leans back in his chair. But before he has time to process his reaction, he is drawn away. He’s suddenly more alert and tries to mask himself with composure.

The faint strums of an acoustic guitar grow closer.

 

At the exact time the tram had been predicted to crash, Indrid was doing two things: he was attempting to scan all the possible futures for the results of the ongoing events; and he was also trying to distract his current anxieties by fixing himself a snack. He taps his fingers against the door to his freezer as he scans the contents inside. His eyes wander but he isn’t paying attention to what they land on- it doesn't really matter anyway, these kind of trivial choices are usually inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Indrid usually indulges himself with these kind of meaningless frivolities; enjoying the complexity of what could be defined as “meaningless” choices. But he was too strung up to fully appreciate that kind of thing now, he is not grounded enough to care. He grabs the closest box without thought and moves on to prepare it. His distraction isn’t working.

His body goes through the motions of heating his instant meal but his thoughts are nothing more than several convoluted streams-of-consciousness at this point. It seems the Pineguard had managed to save everyone on the funicular but there were still so many ways things could go wrong. The employee at the base station was still at risk; Ned and Aubrey had just thrown themselves into even  _ more _ danger; and then there was Duck- surrounded by so many possible futures. Indrid’s heart is pounding and he can’t remember the last time he felt this type of anxiety- felt this type of investment in the outcomes ( _ it was Silver Bridge- you had sworn off attachment after Silver Bridge). _ He’s seen futures with these three. Consistent futures that include  _ himself _ . No matter how hard he had tried to stay isolated, those futures had persisted. Indrid didn’t know what to make of that- and perhaps he had finally given into their certainty. Maybe it would’ve been better to stay out of this; maybe then he wouldn’t be feeling so...so…

Indrid plops the food into the microwave and slams the door shut. He brings a hand to his forehead and slides his fingers through his hair- slightly tugging at the roots as he does so.

For the first time in years Indrid Cold is scared; more specifically, he is scared for someone other than himself. He fidgets restlessly as the microwave hums to life.  What was he doing? Getting involved was a bad idea. Then again, if he hadn’t intervened he still would have felt just as guilty. He watches Duck knock the abomination to the ground and the related futures adjust to fit. Fuck it. If he was going to get invested maybe he should go all out. Maybe he should go out there and help. Maybe he should risk getting caught - 

**_No._ **

His grip tightens in his hair before he drops the hand to hang limp.  _ No _ . 

The microwave beeps and Indrid focuses on that instead. He pulls his plate out and pops a warm pizza bite into his mouth- he doesn’t bother waiting for it to cool; doesn’t care if its too hot to taste. He needs a distraction. He settles himself in front of a space heater, one of the nicer infrared ones, and tries not to pay attention to the visions that play in his subconscious. He is successful- at least for a few minutes. But this time he tries harder to keep himself estranged from these visions; tries to watch them with the same disinterest someone might have while channel surfing. 

That’s when it happens.

Indrid knows time works differently for him, but it that moment he swears it stops moving all together. Futures upon futures upon futures begin to fade. If each vision was a television screen, then this was a power outage that was wiping out all his visions. (There is one future in his peripheral that he does not move to look at. The bright light of burning flame is the only lit screen in the cold darkness.) For what feels like an eternity, Indrid is engulfed in a silent emptiness. And then they come back- but different. Every single future was different. Some futures  _ looked  _ familiar, but they weren’t the same as before; something was off about them. A majority of the futures were brand new; these were possibilities that had never existed until now. Something happened that changed  _ everything _ and Indrid didn’t have to look very hard to find the difference. 

Duck Newton had chosen to save the abomination. 

 

Indrid spends the rest of the night watching the current events of this new timeline play out: all the while, sketching what he sees. He’s behind now. He doesn’t have as much of a grasp on the futures as he had before; less of an advantage, but he watches until the early morning sun begins to shine in through the tinted windows of the winnebago. He goes to flip another page over in his sketchbook but hesitates. He inspects his work. Duck Newton stands across from the...goatman, Billy. The subtle signs of a smile on his face. Billy is very animatedly bleating towards Duck, trying get some form of communication across. 

Indrid is also there, standing at Duck's side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.   
> Don't hesitate to leave a comment! And Thank you so much to everyone who leaves one!   
> I'm also on tumblr at duckwellfucknewton.tumblr.com if you want to shoot me an ask there.  
> I'd love to hear from yall!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Candlenights everyone!! In case you missed it I also wrote a little Dani/Aubrey Vampfire fluff that takes place in this same universe! I've been told its very soft so if that's your thing take a look!  
> Wow. Indruck has really taken off lately….good. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> I hope you enjoy!!!

Indrid knows how to discern the least possible futures from the rest. 

He’s experienced enough to be able to tell the makings of a less likely probability. These futures are fewer- less seemingly identical visions surround them. They are more blurry- harder to focus on. These futures exist because of the  _ slightest  _ chance that they might occur; because until the moment that renders them impossible they are still an option. Some futures might start off weak like this but build up probability given the right circumstances. But it is easy to spot a future that will (most likely) never transpire. That skill is supposed to help him ignore those visions and focus on what will become the actual results. Indrid knows better than to put his attention towards a improbability. 

But sometimes,  _ sometimes, _ Indrid loses himself in these nonviable visions. For whatever reason, he’ll watch them; he’ll watch them until they are no longer possible and end up fading away.

_ Duck Newton shows up with Billy alone.  _

Indrid lets them in and Duck seems somewhat apologetic for showing up with only Billy. Indrid thinks it's cute how Duck stumbles through excuse as to why Ned and Aubrey couldn't make it. In truth, Indrid doesn't care all that much, he had only asked for Billy specifically. Billy stands close to Duck and surveys his new surroundings. Billy bleats out Duck's name and a small smile forms on the ranger's face. 

Indrid stares at Duck but...everything is out of focus. Indrid wants to reach out and adjust the frequency or  _ something _ . The scene starts to dissipate. Indrid gives up. 

It's about time to call Duck at the lodge anyway. 

 

* * *

 

“Hey look. I found two glasses.”

Duck's joke was cut off by the sound of movement outside. Indrid's mood drops instantly and there is a weight in his gut as realization hits him. He had been seen- they had been followed and he had been  _ seen _ . The group hurries out to investigate and Indrid curses under his breath.

_ FOOLISH! That was so FOOLISH! Why did I do that?! _

Indrid hadn't even thought to look in the futures for this potential outcome. He didn't even know why he showed them his true form. It had been an impulsive move and now it was going to cost him his sanctuary here in Kepler. He went around his RV picking up trash and moving things into a somewhat orderly fashion. 

_ Ouch. _

He gets the vision before it actually happens. Amidst the discarded pages of crumpled paper is a tack, left forgotten on the floor. It pricks him in the finger as he grabs at a handful to clean up. It doesn't hurt but it stops him short. He drops what he has and falls to his knees, limp. 

_ Where are you going to go? Home? What about your mark? You have nothing- _

He stabs the tack into the corkboard on the wall and stands up. This is a mess. The Winnebago. The future. His current situation. Everything; a mess. Why had he let himself grown attached? Why had he opened himself up? Things always go worse when he allows himself to care. He swallows down the emotions building up in his throat and gets back to packing.

 

He's outside unplugging the main power supply when the group returns. He silently regrets not finishing up sooner. He's never been great at saying “goodbye”. 

“Well, it's uh...Unfortunately, my time here has come to an end.” Indrid avoids looking at the group directly.

This is always the hardest part. The group starts to babble in confusion and Indrid continues.

“I… You all don't understand how people in this world feel about… me. And I-” Indrid struggles to retain his composure. “I...you all seem more reasonable than most folks when it come to the beings from Sylvain, but that is unfortunately not true for the vast majority of you. Uh, I have been discovered before and only narrowly escaped my fate so...”

_ Never again.  _

Aubrey’s voice cuts through the haze of memories that threaten to fill his mind. “Do you mean this dude?” And she points to the unconscious human they brought with them. 

Indrid is surprised but not enough to get his hopes up. This didn't mean anything. He still has to leave. But as he listens to Aubrey he allows himself to indulge in the possibility. He looks to the futures where he stays. They seem… Unexciting. Ordinary. He tosses his keys and solemnly considers.

_ You don't have to run. _

He catches his keys one last time.

“Okay. Fine. I don't… I don't see any futures where I'm being drawn and quartered quite yet, so I suppose I can take your word for it Aubrey.”

Aubrey looks ecstatic. Did she really care so much if he stayed?

“Absolutely, and,” she gestures with her hands while she speaks. “and I'll make you a deal even, like, 48 hours. You know what I mean? And if you haven't- if  _ we _ haven't figured it out in 48 hours and you wanna skidaddle, absolutely, I totally get it.” 

Indrid plugs the power to his Winnebago back up. “Okay. I'll leave you all to it.”

He starts to head back inside before Aubrey calls back out to him.

“Now that you  _ are _ staying though…”

“Yes?”

“To Duck's point. Could you maybe? Babysit?”

“Your goatman?”

Indrid mulls over the possibility as Aubrey and Duck prattle on. He looks over the two of them and the goat in question. 

“Sure, I get bored-”

“Great!” Duck grinned.

“Let's- Let's have him.”

“We're going to call this one… Jonathan. Jonathan Gruff.” Aubrey beamed as Duck started to bring the goat towards the RV. 

“That's fun.” Indrid moved to help Duck fit Jonathan through the door. 

“Yeah! So you take care of Jonathan Gruff.” Aubrey shouted at him as he entered the rv. She stayed outside and started chatting with Ned, Indrid tuned them out.

Duck stood awkwardly in the entrance, looking for a place to lay the goatman. Indrid motioned towards the couch and together they propped the goat against it. Indrid nodded to Duck, who he expected to leave. Instead Duck gave the Winnebago a quick glance over; it wasn't  _ clean _ but it was in a whole lot better shape than before. For some reason, seeing Duck look at his quick packing job made him feel guilty. As if Duck would judge him for cowardice. 

Duck shuffled on his feet.

“Well… I better get going. Uh, thanks again, bud, for watching him for us.”

Indrid nodded, his arms folded across his chest in an attempt to keep warm. He hadn't bothered to turn the space heaters back on yet. He stared blankly at the wall.

“I'm glad you decided to stay.”

Indrid… wasn't expecting that and he turned to watch Duck leave. Following slowly behind so he could watch them depart from the doorway. As they got in the truck, Duck turned back and gave Indrid a wave- prompting Aubrey and Ned to do the same. 

Indrid catches himself tentatively waving back. 

  
  
  


Indrid's washing the dishes. He’s washing the dishes because they need to be washed. They are dirty and he’s put them off for far too long. He's washing them because it's something to do, and after today he wants the distraction. He rinses the suds off his  _ Batman _ drinking glasses and sets them aside to dry. He looks out the window to see it’s snowing. 

_ Wait. _

Fear turns his blood cold, and he grips the edge of the countertop so tight his finger ache. Panicked, Indrid scrambles through his visions. So many are filled with static, changing but not changing fast enough for him to see. He looks for  _ anything _ clear enough to make out.

_ Ouch. _

Something moves from behind him in the Winnebago, something collides with his skull, and then it's dark.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch. Hey! Thanks for reading!!! You're amazing!  
> This chapter gave me some trouble and I'm so happy to finally have it done and ready for yall! Good news! With the help of some friends I figured out where the plots going! This au really got away from me and maybe one day I’ll do a short write of what my original idea.  
> I'm excited for this.  
> Hey! I'm on tumblr @duckwellfucknewton! Come say hi! Feel free to send me prompts also (no promises but I would love to hear them).  
> Stay amazing. ♡


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cottonwood tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I hope you enjoy!

Duck was feeling terrible. The kinda terrible that leaves a sinking feeling in your gut; an anxious feeling that tells you that something horrible is about to happen and you're powerless to stop it. The feeling had started to form around the time he had to confess to Mama about Billy, and only intensified with the sight of the fake snow falling all over Kepler. He'd felt this feeling before, with the first abomination and then the water elemental, but this time it felt different. It felt like he had already lost somehow and he was just waiting for the big reveal. Maybe it had to do with Danimal’s death, and the targeting of the people he knew. Or maybe it had to do with his vision, the meteor he saw crashing into him. But something deep down told him that none of those were it, that it was something else- something he couldn't place. So Duck did what he did best.

He ignored it.

As far as he could tell, they were going to beat this thing. I mean, come on- it was just a tree. Sure it could control time or something of that nature, and sure it had those goat henchmen- but it was a _tree._ He dealt with trees every damn day. So he pushed down that feeling and he focused on making sure they got this dealt with. After all, he had work tomorrow.

As they drew closer to the Cottonwood tree Duck took the lead because...well because Duck _knows_ trees. And he knows the forest. And to be quite honest, the closer they got the more Duck felt like he was being pulled towards their destination. He blamed that on his “chosen” powers but dwelling on that left him uneasy about the whole “destiny” thing. Once they got close enough to see it, Duck tried to take in all that he could read about their situation.

_Ah, shit._

The Cottonwood tree towered over them at over ten feet in height. The top of the tree was split open and shooting spores out in a geyser-like effect. At the base of the tree, the shears goatman was propped up among the roots. It looked like it was being swallowed by the tree, bark growing into its side. And then Duck sees the second goatman, dragging something wrapped up in chains behind him in the snow. _Shit!_ He recognizes the shape as Indrid. He could see a black eye and blood matting in Indrid's hair.

_I have to save Indrid._

“We have to save the mothman.” Ned interrupts his thoughts and Duck is faced once again with the faint absurdity of the situation he's found himself in.

Aubrey agrees with Ned and Duck attempts to stave off the twisting feeling in his gut with some humor.

“Yeah, that's a whole tourist industry right there for Point Pleasant-” Ned agrees. “-That I won't let go down the tubes.”

Duck find his eyes drawn to Indrid once more. The chains don't look _too_ tough, he could probably get them off with Beacon. As long as he can keep the goatman preoccupied hopes that’ll be enough for Indrid to retreat to safety.

“ _Ah, shit._ Alright, listen guys…” Duck informs the others of his plans. He tells Ned to fire the nails at the tree while Aubrey takes care of the spores. “Alright. I'm gonna- I'm gonna rescue the mothman.”

 

***

 

_There was a sinkhole in Kepler._

 

It starts off slow but it will continue to grow until it causes the foundation of the local hospital to collapse. People were going to die. This catastrophe was aimed at Kepler's most vulnerable. And he has no way to warn them. Indrid could only watch the futures as they appear. He’s been watching them since he regained consciousness only minutes ago and found himself tied up and being dragged through the snow. It was the goatman - of course it had been the goatman. He has been foolish to agree to keep him for the others and his mistake would lead to the harm of many others. If only he had payed more attention - then maybe he would be in a position to help save the town. Indrid watches several futures of destruction as he feels himself being propped up against something, a tree probably. He wasn't paying attention to his own futures, those didn't matter to him right now.

“Hey. Indrid, are you with us?”

Was that Duck? Indrid felt himself pulled back to the present. Blinking, he struggled to readjust to his current surroundings. Just as he did there was a flash of metal and reflexively tried to roll away. Duck's sword, with some resistance, managed to break through the chains. Indrid caught a glimpse of something.

“Duck! What are you-” Duck's fist collided with Indrid's face, successfully knocking off his glasses.

“Fly, Indrid, fly!”

Indrid didn't even have time to properly react. Duck was here to help- Duck could help. He reached to Duck, momentarily forgetting his own recent transformation.

“Duck,” his voice wavering. “Duck I...my visions...there's a hole...in the ground. There's a hole- a large hole in the ground in the middle of Kepler and..building have fallen into it.” The visions started returning to Indrid and he started to lose himself to them again. “I see cars, I see twisted wreckage and bodies-”

“No, listen.” Duck's voice cut through the visions. He had reached up and grabbed one of the Indrid’s arms; the casual touch grounded Indrid in the moment.

“Listen, we don't have a lot of time. I've seen it too, I know, it fucking sucks! I saw it in a dream and I thought it was just that, anxiety dreams or whatever, but I,” Duck met his gaze. “Apparently it was a prophecy. I get it. This one I've seen too and I swear to _God_ , Indrid, we’re not gonna let it happen.”

The sincerity in Duck's words was shocking to Indrid, but he found himself calmed by them. He believed Duck- he believed _in_ Duck; and in Aubrey, in Ned, in the Pineguard. So he let himself believe that everything would turn out fine. He held Duck's gaze and nodded firmly.

 

Everything was going to be okay.

 

* * *

 

Everything was far from okay.

 

He had saved Indrid. Destroyed the abomination. Saved the town. But Minerva was gone. His powers were gone. Now he was just a regular ol’ dude with what? A dull sword and anxiety? He couldn't do this. But he couldn't just back out of it now. He couldn't bail on Aubrey and Ned. That wouldn't be right. Besides, Leo would probably wouldn’t let him quit either.

That was another thing wasn't it? Leo was _also_ chosen- there were multiple chosens. Duck rubbed his stomach. It probably hadn't been the wisest decision to tell Leo to punch him in the gut. His whole body ached in a way he couldn't remember if he ever felt before. He groaned and rolled his face into his pillow. Maybe he could skip the whole “work” thing today, Juno would understand.

Nah, fuck it. He could do this. He had a cat to feed anyway.

Duck managed to pull himself out of bed and begin his morning routine. While getting dressed, he stopped to look at his reflection in the mirror.

_Fuck, I look tired._

While inspecting the dark circles under his eyes something else caught his attention. Duck shifted so he could get a better look. His soulmark. A simple outline of an old telephone handset laid on its side with the speakers facing forward. But something was off about it. He gingerly brought two fingers to prod at the mark that sat on his left pectoral around his collarbone. It looked...discolored? Had he bruised it yesterday? It didn't _feel_ tender, so that was probably a good sign. Huh. But it definitely looked...red.

He shrugged and continued getting ready for work.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry this chapter took so long. Thank you for sticking around!! Or rather thank you for giving this a read! Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think! I also have a TAZ blog at duckwellfucknewton.tumblr.com  
> Come say hello!  
> I hope it won't take me as long to get the next chapter out. Stay amazing yall! ♡


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